About René Guénon
René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon, also known as Abdalwahid Yahia, was a French-Egyptian intellectual who wrote on topics ranging from esotericism, "sacred science" and "traditional studies" to symbolism and initiation. René Guénon first adopted Islam in 1912, he insisted on recalling that the purely religious concept of an immediate conversion did not apply to his case, indicating he had previous acquaintance with the Islamic faith. Guénon soon discovered that the Esoteric Christian Martinist order, also supervised by Papus, was irregular: he wrote later that this occultist milieu had not received any authentic spiritual transmission. He joined the Gnostic Church of France founded by Léonce Fabre des Essarts (Synesius). Guénon observed and became involved with some students under the supervision of Papus.
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